Avoiding out of order uplink data reception upon data radio bearer release, handover to another data radio bearer, or quality of service flow addition

ABSTRACT

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for avoiding out of order uplink data reception upon data radio bearer (DRB) release or quality of service (QoS) flow addition. An exemplary method that may be performed by a user equipment (UE), includes obtaining an indication that a first data radio bearer (DRB) is released or handed over to a second DRB, wherein a first mapping maps a first quality of service (QoS) flow to the first DRB; obtaining a second mapping that maps the first QoS flow to a second DRB; editing service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) headers of uplink protocol data units (PDUs) in an uplink transmission buffer associated with the first DRB, based on a difference between a first configuration of the first DRB and a second configuration of the second DRB; and transmitting the uplink PDUs via the second DRB.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser.No. 16/417,266 filed May 20, 2019, which claims benefit of and priorityto U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/734,017 filed Sep. 20,2018, which are assigned to the assignee hereof and hereby expresslyincorporated by reference herein in their entireties as if fully setforth below and for all applicable purposes.

BACKGROUND Field of the Disclosure

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, andmore particularly, to techniques for avoiding out of order uplink datareception upon data radio bearer (DRB) release, handover to another DRB,or quality of service (QoS) flow addition in wireless communicationsnetworks, such as 5th Generation (5G) networks.

Description of Related Art

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide varioustelecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging,broadcasts, etc. These wireless communication systems may employmultiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication withmultiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth,transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple-access systems include3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE)systems, LTE Advanced (LTE-A) systems, code division multiple access(CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequencydivision multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency divisionmultiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency divisionmultiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous codedivision multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, to name a few.

In some examples, a wireless multiple-access communication system mayinclude a number of base stations (BSs), which are each capable ofsimultaneously supporting communication for multiple communicationdevices, otherwise known as user equipments (UEs). In an LTE or LTE-Anetwork, a set of one or more base stations may define an eNodeB (eNB).In other examples (e.g., in a next generation, a new radio (NR), or 5Gnetwork), a wireless multiple access communication system may include anumber of distributed units (DUs) (e.g., edge units (EUs), edge nodes(ENs), radio heads (RHs), smart radio heads (SRHs), transmissionreception points (TRPs), etc.) in communication with a number of centralunits (CUs) (e.g., central nodes (CNs), access node controllers (ANCs),etc.), where a set of one or more distributed units, in communicationwith a central unit, may define an access node (e.g., which may bereferred to as a base station, 5G NB, next generation NodeB (gNB orgNodeB), TRP, etc.). A base station or distributed unit may communicatewith a set of UEs on downlink channels (e.g., for transmissions from abase station or to a UE) and uplink channels (e.g., for transmissionsfrom a UE to a base station or distributed unit).

These multiple access technologies have been adopted in varioustelecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enablesdifferent wireless devices to communicate on a municipal, national,regional, and even global level. New Radio (NR) (e.g., 5G) is an exampleof an emerging telecommunication standard. NR is a set of enhancementsto the LTE mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. It is designed to bettersupport mobile broadband Internet access by improving spectralefficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of newspectrum, and better integrating with other open standards using OFDMAwith a cyclic prefix (CP) on the downlink (DL) and on the uplink (UL).To these ends, NR supports beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation.

However, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues toincrease, there exists a need for further improvements in NR and LTEtechnology. Preferably, these improvements should be applicable to othermulti-access technologies and the telecommunication standards thatemploy these technologies.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The systems, methods, and devices of the disclosure each have severalaspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirableattributes. Without limiting the scope of this disclosure as expressedby the claims which follow, some features will now be discussed briefly.After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading thesection entitled “Detailed Description” one will understand how thefeatures of this disclosure provide advantages that include improvedcommunications between access points and stations in a wireless network.

In aspects of the present disclosure, a method for wirelesscommunications that may be performed by a user equipment (UE) isprovided. The method generally includes obtaining an indication that afirst data radio bearer (DRB) is released, wherein a first mapping mapsa first quality of service (QoS) flow to the first DRB; obtaining asecond mapping that maps the first QoS flow to a second DRB; editingservice data adaptation protocol (SDAP) headers of uplink protocol dataunits (PDUs) in an uplink transmission buffer associated with the firstDRB, based on a difference between a first configuration of the firstDRB and a second configuration of the second DRB; and transmitting theuplink PDUs via the second DRB.

In aspects of the present disclosure, a method for wirelesscommunications that may be performed by a user equipment (UE) isprovided. The method generally includes receiving a non-access stratum(NAS) protocol data unit (PDU) session modification command for a PDUsession that adds a new quality of service (QoS) flow having a first QoSflow identifier (QFI); determining that the UE does not have an uplinkQoS flow to data radio bearer (DRB) mapping rule for the QoS flow havingthe first QFI; and, preventing, during a period subsequent to thedetermination, a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer of the UEfrom processing and transmitting uplink data associated with the QoSflow having the first QFI.

In aspects of the present disclosure, a method for wirelesscommunications is provided. The method generally includes receiving aconfiguration of a protocol data unit (PDU) session, wherein theconfiguration does not identify a default data radio bearer (DRB) of thePDU session and a quality of service (QoS) flow of the PDU session doesnot have a QoS flow to DRB mapping rule configured; subsequent to aperiod elapsing after receiving the configuration, determining if theconfiguration still holds; when the configuration still holds: when aDRB of the PDU session that contains a QoS flow associated with thedefault QoS rule is configured to use uplink service data adaptationprotocol (SDAP) headers, mapping the QoS flow to the DRB; and when theDRB of the PDU session that contains the QoS flow associated with thedefault QoS rule is not configured to use uplink SDAP headers, mappingthe QoS flow to another DRB that does not contain a guaranteed bit rate(GBR) QoS flow and is configured to use uplink SDAP headers.

In aspects of the present disclosure, an apparatus for wirelesscommunications is provided. The apparatus generally includes a processorconfigured to obtain an indication that a first data radio bearer (DRB)is released, wherein a first mapping maps a first quality of service(QoS) flow to the first DRB; obtaining a second mapping that maps thefirst QoS flow to a second DRB; to edit service data adaptation protocol(SDAP) headers of uplink protocol data units (PDUs) in an uplinktransmission buffer associated with the first DRB, based on a differencebetween a first configuration of the first DRB and a secondconfiguration of the second DRB; and to transmit the uplink PDUs via thesecond DRB; and a memory coupled with the processor.

In aspects of the present disclosure, an apparatus for wirelesscommunications is provided. The apparatus generally includes a processorconfigured to receive a non-access stratum (NAS) protocol data unit(PDU) session modification command for a PDU session that adds a newquality of service (QoS) flow having a first QoS flow identifier (QFI);to determine that the apparatus does not have an uplink QoS flow to dataradio bearer (DRB) mapping rule for the QoS flow having the first QFI;and, to prevent, during a period subsequent to the determination, aservice data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer of the apparatus fromprocessing and transmitting uplink data associated with the QoS flowhaving the first QFI; and a memory coupled with the processor.

In aspects of the present disclosure, an apparatus for wirelesscommunications is provided. The apparatus generally includes a processorconfigured to receive a configuration of a protocol data unit (PDU)session, wherein the configuration does not identify a default dataradio bearer (DRB) of the PDU session and a quality of service (QoS)flow of the PDU session does not have a QoS flow to DRB mapping ruleconfigured; to determine, subsequent to a period elapsing afterreceiving the configuration, if the configuration still holds; when theconfiguration still holds: to map the QoS flow to the DRB, when a DRB ofthe PDU session that contains a QoS flow associated with the default QoSrule is configured to use uplink service data adaptation protocol (SDAP)headers; and to map the QoS flow to another DRB that does not contain aguaranteed bit rate (GBR) QoS flow and is configured to use uplink SDAPheaders, when the DRB of the PDU session that contains the QoS flowassociated with the default QoS rule is not configured to use uplinkSDAP headers; and a memory coupled with the processor.

In aspects of the present disclosure, an apparatus for wirelesscommunications is provided. The apparatus generally includes means forobtaining an indication that a first data radio bearer (DRB) isreleased, wherein a first mapping maps a first quality of service (QoS)flow to the first DRB; means for obtaining a second mapping that mapsthe first QoS flow to a second DRB; editing service data adaptationprotocol (SDAP) headers of uplink protocol data units (PDUs) in anuplink transmission buffer associated with the first DRB, based on adifference between a first configuration of the first DRB and a secondconfiguration of the second DRB; and means for transmitting the uplinkPDUs via the second DRB.

In aspects of the present disclosure, an apparatus for wirelesscommunications is provided. The apparatus generally includes means forreceiving a non-access stratum (NAS) protocol data unit (PDU) sessionmodification command for a PDU session that adds a new quality ofservice (QoS) flow having a first QoS flow identifier (QFI); means fordetermining that the apparatus does not have an uplink QoS flow to dataradio bearer (DRB) mapping rule for the QoS flow having the first QFI;and, means for preventing, during a period subsequent to thedetermination, a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer of theapparatus from processing and transmitting uplink data associated withthe QoS flow having the first QFI.

In aspects of the present disclosure, an apparatus for wirelesscommunications is provided. The apparatus generally includes means forreceiving a configuration of a protocol data unit (PDU) session, whereinthe configuration does not identify a default data radio bearer (DRB) ofthe PDU session and a quality of service (QoS) flow of the PDU sessiondoes not have a QoS flow to DRB mapping rule configured; means fordetermining if the configuration still holds subsequent to a periodelapsing after receiving the configuration; means for mapping the QoSflow to the DRB when the configuration still holds and when a DRB of thePDU session that contains a QoS flow associated with the default QoSrule is configured to use uplink service data adaptation protocol (SDAP)headers; and means for mapping the QoS flow to another DRB that does notcontain a guaranteed bit rate (GBR) QoS flow and is configured to useuplink SDAP headers, when the configuration still holds and when the DRBof the PDU session that contains the QoS flow associated with thedefault QoS rule is not configured to use uplink SDAP headers,.

In aspects of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium forwireless communications is provided. The computer-readable mediumincludes instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause theprocessor to perform operations generally including obtaining anindication that a first data radio bearer (DRB) is released, wherein afirst mapping maps a first quality of service (QoS) flow to the firstDRB; obtaining a second mapping that maps the first QoS flow to a secondDRB; editing service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) headers of uplinkprotocol data units (PDUs) in an uplink transmission buffer associatedwith the first DRB, based on a difference between a first configurationof the first DRB and a second configuration of the second DRB; andtransmitting the uplink PDUs via the second DRB.

In aspects of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium forwireless communications is provided. The computer-readable mediumincludes instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause theprocessor to perform operations generally including receiving anon-access stratum (NAS) protocol data unit (PDU) session modificationcommand for a PDU session that adds a new quality of service (QoS) flowhaving a first QoS flow identifier (QFI); determining that an apparatusincluding the processor does not have an uplink QoS flow to data radiobearer (DRB) mapping rule for the QoS flow having the first QFI; and,preventing, during a period subsequent to the determination, a servicedata adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer of the apparatus from processingand transmitting uplink data associated with the QoS flow having thefirst QFI.

In aspects of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium forwireless communications is provided. The computer-readable mediumincludes instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause theprocessor to perform operations generally including receiving aconfiguration of a protocol data unit (PDU) session, wherein theconfiguration does not identify a default data radio bearer (DRB) of thePDU session and a quality of service (QoS) flow of the PDU session doesnot have a QoS flow to DRB mapping rule configured; subsequent to aperiod elapsing after receiving the configuration, determining if theconfiguration still holds; when the configuration still holds: when aDRB of the PDU session that contains a QoS flow associated with thedefault QoS rule is configured to use uplink service data adaptationprotocol (SDAP) headers, mapping the QoS flow to the DRB; and when theDRB of the PDU session that contains the QoS flow associated with thedefault QoS rule is not configured to use uplink SDAP headers, mappingthe QoS flow to another DRB that does not contain a guaranteed bit rate(GBR) QoS flow and is configured to use uplink SDAP headers.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreaspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe appended drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative featuresof the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, ofbut a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspectsmay be employed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above-recited features of the presentdisclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description,briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to aspects, some ofwhich are illustrated in the drawings. It is to be noted, however, thatthe appended drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of thisdisclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope,for the description may admit to other equally effective aspects.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an exampletelecommunications system, in accordance with certain aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example logical architectureof a distributed radio access network (RAN), in accordance with certainaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example physical architecture of adistributed RAN, in accordance with certain aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating a design of anexample base station (BS) and user equipment (UE), in accordance withcertain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing examples for implementing a communicationprotocol stack, in accordance with certain aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a frame format for a new radio (NR)system, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7A depicts an example of a QoS architecture in a next generationradio access network.

FIG. 7B depicts an example of a SDAP control PDU.

FIG. 8 illustrates an uplink mapping for end-to-end QoS enforcement,according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of a call flow when an NG-RAN configures a UE tochange the AS mapping of an existing QoS flow from one DRB to anotherDRB, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an uplink mapping during theoperations illustrated with the call flow shown in FIG. 9, according toaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating operations for wirelesscommunications that may be performed by a UE to avoid out of orderuplink data reception upon DRB release, according to aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating operations for wirelesscommunications that may be performed by a UE to avoid out of orderuplink data reception upon QoS flow addition, according to aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating operations for wirelesscommunications that may be performed by a UE to avoid discarding UL userdata when the UE has a PDU session having non-default DRBs and nodefault DRB and at least one QoS flow that is not mapped to a DRB,according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates a communications device that may include variouscomponents configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosedherein in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one aspectmay be beneficially utilized on other aspects without specificrecitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus, methods, processingsystems, and computer readable mediums for avoiding out of order uplinkdata reception upon data radio bearer (DRB) release, handover to anotherDRB, or quality of service (QoS) flow addition in wirelesscommunications networks, such as 5th Generation (5G) networks.

The following description provides examples, and is not limiting of thescope, applicability, or examples set forth in the claims. Changes maybe made in the function and arrangement of elements discussed withoutdeparting from the scope of the disclosure. Various examples may omit,substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. Forinstance, the methods described may be performed in an order differentfrom that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, orcombined. Also, features described with respect to some examples may becombined in some other examples. For example, an apparatus may beimplemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspectsset forth herein. In addition, the scope of the disclosure is intendedto cover such an apparatus or method which is practiced using otherstructure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to,or other than, the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein.It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosedherein may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim. The word“exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, orillustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” is notnecessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over otheraspects.

The techniques described herein may be used for various wirelesscommunication technologies, such as LTE, CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA,SC-FDMA and other networks. The terms “network” and “system” are oftenused interchangeably. A CDMA network may implement a radio technologysuch as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, etc. UTRAincludes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. cdma2000covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA network may implementa radio technology such as Global System for Mobile Communications(GSM). An OFDMA network may implement a radio technology such as NR(e.g. 5G RA), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDMA, etc. UTRAand E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS).

New Radio (NR) is an emerging wireless communications technology underdevelopment in conjunction with the 5G Technology Forum (5GTF). 3GPPLong Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) are releases of UMTSthat use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A and GSM are described indocuments from an organization named “3rd Generation PartnershipProject” (3GPP). cdma2000 and UMB are described in documents from anorganization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). Thetechniques described herein may be used for the wireless networks andradio technologies mentioned above as well as other wireless networksand radio technologies. For clarity, while aspects may be describedherein using terminology commonly associated with 3^(rd) Generation (3G)and/or 4^(th) Generation (4G) wireless technologies, aspects of thepresent disclosure can be applied in other generation-basedcommunication systems, such as 5G and later, including NR technologies.

New radio (NR) access (e.g., 5G technology) may support various wirelesscommunication services, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB)targeting wide bandwidth (e.g., 80 MHz or wider) communications,millimeter wave (mmW) targeting high carrier frequency (e.g., 25 GHz orhigher) communications, massive machine type communications (mMTC)targeting non-backward compatible machine type communications (MTC)techniques, and/or mission critical targeting ultra-reliable low-latencycommunications (URLLC). These services may include latency andreliability requirements. These services may also have differenttransmission time intervals (TTI) to meet respective quality of service(QoS) requirements. In addition, these services may co-exist in the samesubframe.

Example Wireless Communications System

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication network 100 inwhich aspects of the present disclosure may be performed. For example,the wireless communication network 100 may be a New Radio (NR) or 5Gnetwork. The systems and methods for avoiding out of order uplink datatransmission upon data radio bearer (DRB) release or quality of service(QoS) flow addition in wireless communications networks described withrespect to FIGS. 11, 12, and 13, below, may be implemented withinwireless communication network 100.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the wireless network 100 may include a numberof base stations (BSs) 110 and other network entities. A BS may be astation that communicates with user equipments (UEs). Each BS 110 mayprovide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a Node B (NB)and/or a Node B subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on thecontext in which the term is used. In NR systems, the term “cell” andnext generation NodeB (gNB), new radio base station (NR BS), 5G NB,access point (AP), or transmission reception point (TRP) may beinterchangeable. In some examples, a cell may not necessarily bestationary, and the geographic area of the cell may move according tothe location of a mobile BS. In some examples, the base stations may beinterconnected to one another and/or to one or more other base stationsor network nodes (not shown) in wireless communication network 100through various types of backhaul interfaces, such as a direct physicalconnection, a wireless connection, a virtual network, or the like usingany suitable transport network.

In general, any number of wireless networks may be deployed in a givengeographic area. Each wireless network may support a particular radioaccess technology (RAT) and may operate on one or more frequencies. ARAT may also be referred to as a radio technology, an air interface,etc. A frequency may also be referred to as a carrier, a subcarrier, afrequency channel, a tone, a subband, etc. Each frequency may support asingle RAT in a given geographic area in order to avoid interferencebetween wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RATnetworks may be deployed.

A base station (BS) may provide communication coverage for a macro cell,a pico cell, a femto cell, and/or other types of cells. A macro cell maycover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers inradius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with servicesubscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic areaand may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. Afemto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home)and may allow restricted access by UEs having an association with thefemto cell (e.g., UEs in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG), UEs for usersin the home, etc.). A BS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macroBS. ABS for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico BS. ABS for a femtocell may be referred to as a femto BS or a home BS. In the example shownin FIG. 1, the BSs 110 a, 110 b and 110 c may be macro BSs for the macrocells 102 a, 102 b and 102 c, respectively. The BS 110 x may be a picoBS for a pico cell 102 x. The BSs 110 y and 110 z may be femto BSs forthe femto cells 102 y and 102 z, respectively. A BS may support one ormultiple (e.g., three) cells.

Wireless communication network 100 may also include relay stations. Arelay station is a station that receives a transmission of data and/orother information from an upstream station (e.g., a BS or a UE) andsends a transmission of the data and/or other information to adownstream station (e.g., a UE or a BS). A relay station may also be aUE that relays transmissions for other UEs. In the example shown in FIG.1, a relay station 110 r may communicate with the BS 110 a and a UE 120r in order to facilitate communication between the BS 110 a and the UE120 r. A relay station may also be referred to as a relay BS, a relay,etc.

Wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that includes BSs ofdifferent types, e.g., macro BS, pico BS, femto BS, relays, etc. Thesedifferent types of BSs may have different transmit power levels,different coverage areas, and different impact on interference in thewireless network 100. For example, macro BS may have a high transmitpower level (e.g., 20 Watts) whereas pico BS, femto BS, and relays mayhave a lower transmit power level (e.g., 1 Watt).

Wireless communication network 100 may support synchronous orasynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the BSs may havesimilar frame timing, and transmissions from different BSs may beapproximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the BSs mayhave different frame timing, and transmissions from different BSs maynot be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used forboth synchronous and asynchronous operation.

A network controller 130 may couple to a set of BSs and providecoordination and control for these BSs. The network controller 130 maycommunicate with the BSs 110 via a backhaul. The BSs 110 may alsocommunicate with one another (e.g., directly or indirectly) via wirelessor wireline backhaul.

The UEs 120 (e.g., 120 x, 120 y, etc.) may be dispersed throughout thewireless network 100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. A UE mayalso be referred to as a mobile station, a terminal, an access terminal,a subscriber unit, a station, a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), acellular phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), awireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, alaptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station,a tablet computer, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, anultrabook, an appliance, a medical device or medical equipment, abiometric sensor/device, a wearable device such as a smart watch, smartclothing, smart glasses, a smart wrist band, smart jewelry (e.g., asmart ring, a smart bracelet, etc.), an entertainment device (e.g., amusic device, a video device, a satellite radio, etc.), a vehicularcomponent or sensor, a smart meter/sensor, industrial manufacturingequipment, a global positioning system device, or any other suitabledevice that is configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium.Some UEs may be considered machine-type communication (MTC) devices orevolved MTC (eMTC) devices. MTC and eMTC UEs include, for example,robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, locationtags, etc., that may communicate with a BS, another device (e.g., remotedevice), or some other entity. A wireless node may provide, for example,connectivity for or to a network (e.g., a wide area network such asInternet or a cellular network) via a wired or wireless communicationlink. Some UEs may be considered Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, whichmay be narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) devices.

Certain wireless networks (e.g., LTE) utilize orthogonal frequencydivision multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and single-carrierfrequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDMpartition the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers,which are also commonly referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarriermay be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are sent inthe frequency domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDM. Thespacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total numberof subcarriers (K) may be dependent on the system bandwidth. Forexample, the spacing of the subcarriers may be 15 kHz and the minimumresource allocation (called a “resource block” (RB)) may be 12subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Consequently, the nominal Fast FourierTransfer (FFT) size may be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024 or 2048 forsystem bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz),respectively. The system bandwidth may also be partitioned intosubbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resourceblocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for systembandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10 or 20 MHz, respectively.

While aspects of the examples described herein may be associated withLTE technologies, aspects of the present disclosure may be applicablewith other wireless communications systems, such as NR. NR may utilizeOFDM with a CP on the uplink and downlink and include support forhalf-duplex operation using TDD. Beamforming may be supported and beamdirection may be dynamically configured. MIMO transmissions withprecoding may also be supported. MIMO configurations in the DL maysupport up to eight transmit antennas with multi-layer DL transmissionsup to eight streams and up to two streams per UE. Multi-layertransmissions with up to two streams per UE may be supported.Aggregation of multiple cells may be supported with up to eight servingcells.

In some examples, access to the air interface may be scheduled, whereina scheduling entity (e.g., a base station) allocates resources forcommunication among some or all devices and equipment within its servicearea or cell. The scheduling entity may be responsible for scheduling,assigning, reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or moresubordinate entities. That is, for scheduled communication, subordinateentities utilize resources allocated by the scheduling entity. Basestations are not the only entities that may function as a schedulingentity. In some examples, a UE may function as a scheduling entity andmay schedule resources for one or more subordinate entities (e.g., oneor more other UEs), and the other UEs may utilize the resourcesscheduled by the UE for wireless communication. In some examples, a UEmay function as a scheduling entity in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network,and/or in a mesh network. In a mesh network example, UEs may communicatedirectly with one another in addition to communicating with a schedulingentity.

In FIG. 1, a solid line with double arrows indicates desiredtransmissions between a UE and a serving BS, which is a BS designated toserve the UE on the downlink and/or uplink. A finely dashed line withdouble arrows indicates interfering transmissions between a UE and a BS.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example logical architecture of a distributedRadio Access Network (RAN) 200, which may be implemented in the wirelesscommunication network 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. A 5G access node 206may include an access node controller (ANC) 202. ANC 202 may be acentral unit (CU) of the distributed RAN 200. The backhaul interface tothe Next Generation Core Network (NG-CN) 204 may terminate at ANC 202.The backhaul interface to neighboring next generation access Nodes(NG-ANs) 210 may terminate at ANC 202. ANC 202 may include one or moretransmission reception points (TRPs) 208 (e.g., cells, BSs, gNBs, etc.).

The TRPs 208 may be a distributed unit (DU). TRPs 208 may be connectedto a single ANC (e.g., ANC 202) or more than one ANC (not illustrated).For example, for RAN sharing, radio as a service (RaaS), and servicespecific AND deployments, TRPs 208 may be connected to more than oneANC. TRPs 208 may each include one or more antenna ports. TRPs 208 maybe configured to individually (e.g., dynamic selection) or jointly(e.g., joint transmission) serve traffic to a UE.

The logical architecture of distributed RAN 200 may support fronthaulingsolutions across different deployment types. For example, the logicalarchitecture may be based on transmit network capabilities (e.g.,bandwidth, latency, and/or jitter).

The logical architecture of distributed RAN 200 may share featuresand/or components with LTE. For example, next generation access node(NG-AN) 210 may support dual connectivity with NR and may share a commonfronthaul for LTE and NR.

The logical architecture of distributed RAN 200 may enable cooperationbetween and among TRPs 208, for example, within a TRP and/or across TRPsvia ANC 202. An inter-TRP interface may not be used.

Logical functions may be dynamically distributed in the logicalarchitecture of distributed RAN 200. As will be described in more detailwith reference to FIG. 5, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, PacketData Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer,Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, and a Physical (PHY) layers may beadaptably placed at the DU (e.g., TRP 208) or CU (e.g., ANC 202).

FIG. 3 illustrates an example physical architecture of a distributedRadio Access Network (RAN) 300, according to aspects of the presentdisclosure. A centralized core network unit (C-CU) 302 may host corenetwork functions. C-CU 302 may be centrally deployed. C-CU 302functionality may be offloaded (e.g., to advanced wireless services(AWS)), in an effort to handle peak capacity.

A centralized RAN unit (C-RU) 304 may host one or more ANC functions.Optionally, the C-RU 304 may host core network functions locally. TheC-RU 304 may have distributed deployment. The C-RU 304 may be close tothe network edge.

A DU 306 may host one or more TRPs (Edge Node (EN), an Edge Unit (EU), aRadio Head (RH), a Smart Radio Head (SRH), or the like). The DU may belocated at edges of the network with radio frequency (RF) functionality.

FIG. 4 illustrates example components of BS 110 and UE 120 (as depictedin FIG. 1), which may be used to implement aspects of the presentdisclosure. For example, antennas 452, processors 466, 458, 464, and/orcontroller/processor 480 of the UE 120 and/or antennas 434, processors420, 430, 438, and/or controller/processor 440 of the BS 110 may be usedto perform the various techniques and methods described herein, such asthose described with respect to FIGS. 11, 12, and 13.

At the BS 110, a transmit processor 420 may receive data from a datasource 412 and control information from a controller/processor 440. Thecontrol information may be for the physical broadcast channel (PBCH),physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), physical hybrid ARQindicator channel (PHICH), physical downlink control channel (PDCCH),group common PDCCH (GC PDCCH), etc. The data may be for the physicaldownlink shared channel (PDSCH), etc. The processor 420 may process(e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and control information to obtaindata symbols and control symbols, respectively. The processor 420 mayalso generate reference symbols, e.g., for the primary synchronizationsignal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and cell-specificreference signal (CRS). A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO) processor 430 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) onthe data symbols, the control symbols, and/or the reference symbols, ifapplicable, and may provide output symbol streams to the modulators(MODs) 432 a through 432 t. Each modulator 432 may process a respectiveoutput symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output samplestream. Each modulator may further process (e.g., convert to analog,amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain adownlink signal. Downlink signals from modulators 432 a through 432 tmay be transmitted via the antennas 434 a through 434 t, respectively.

At the UE 120, the antennas 452 a through 452 r may receive the downlinksignals from the base station 110 and may provide received signals tothe demodulators (DEMODs) in transceivers 454 a through 454 r,respectively. Each demodulator 454 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify,downconvert, and digitize) a respective received signal to obtain inputsamples. Each demodulator may further process the input samples (e.g.,for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 456 mayobtain received symbols from all the demodulators 454 a through 454 r,perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, andprovide detected symbols. A receive processor 458 may process (e.g.,demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, providedecoded data for the UE 120 to a data sink 460, and provide decodedcontrol information to a controller/processor 480.

On the uplink, at UE 120, a transmit processor 464 may receive andprocess data (e.g., for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)) froma data source 462 and control information (e.g., for the physical uplinkcontrol channel (PUCCH) from the controller/processor 480. The transmitprocessor 464 may also generate reference symbols for a reference signal(e.g., for the sounding reference signal (SRS)). The symbols from thetransmit processor 464 may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor 466 ifapplicable, further processed by the demodulators in transceivers 454 athrough 454 r (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc.), and transmitted to the basestation 110. At the BS 110, the uplink signals from the UE 120 may bereceived by the antennas 434, processed by the modulators 432, detectedby a MIMO detector 436 if applicable, and further processed by a receiveprocessor 438 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by theUE 120. The receive processor 438 may provide the decoded data to a datasink 439 and the decoded control information to the controller/processor440.

The controllers/processors 440 and 480 may direct the operation at thebase station 110 and the UE 120, respectively. The processor 440 and/orother processors and modules at the BS 110 may perform or direct theexecution of processes for the techniques described herein. The memories442 and 482 may store data and program codes for BS 110 and UE 120,respectively. A scheduler 444 may schedule UEs for data transmission onthe downlink and/or uplink.

FIG. 5 illustrates a diagram 500 showing examples for implementing acommunications protocol stack, according to aspects of the presentdisclosure. The illustrated communications protocol stacks may beimplemented by devices operating in a wireless communication system,such as a 5G system (e.g., a system that supports uplink-basedmobility). Diagram 500 illustrates a communications protocol stackincluding a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer 510, a Packet DataConvergence Protocol (PDCP) layer 515, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer520, a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer 525, and a Physical (PHY) layer530. In various examples, the layers of a protocol stack may beimplemented as separate modules of software, portions of a processor orASIC, portions of non-collocated devices connected by a communicationslink, or various combinations thereof. Collocated and non-collocatedimplementations may be used, for example, in a protocol stack for anetwork access device (e.g., ANs, CUs, and/or DUs) or a UE.

A first option 505-a shows a split implementation of a protocol stack,in which implementation of the protocol stack is split between acentralized network access device (e.g., an ANC 202 in FIG. 2) anddistributed network access device (e.g., DU 208 in FIG. 2). In the firstoption 505-a, an RRC layer 510 and a PDCP layer 515 may be implementedby the central unit, and an RLC layer 520, a MAC layer 525, and a PHYlayer 530 may be implemented by the DU. In various examples the CU andthe DU may be collocated or non-collocated. The first option 505-a maybe useful in a macro cell, micro cell, or pico cell deployment.

A second option 505-b shows a unified implementation of a protocolstack, in which the protocol stack is implemented in a single networkaccess device. In the second option, RRC layer 510, PDCP layer 515, RLClayer 520, MAC layer 525, and PHY layer 530 may each be implemented bythe AN. The second option 505-b may be useful in, for example, a femtocell deployment.

Regardless of whether a network access device implements part or all ofa protocol stack, a UE may implement an entire protocol stack as shownin 505-c (e.g., the RRC layer 510, the PDCP layer 515, the RLC layer520, the MAC layer 525, and the PHY layer 530).

In LTE, the basic transmission time interval (TTI) or packet duration isthe 1 ms subframe. In NR, a subframe is still 1 ms, but the basic TTI isreferred to as a slot. A subframe contains a variable number of slots(e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, . . . slots) depending on the subcarrier spacing.The NR RB is 12 consecutive frequency subcarriers. NR may support a basesubcarrier spacing of 15 KHz and other subcarrier spacing may be definedwith respect to the base subcarrier spacing, for example, 30 kHz, 60kHz, 120 kHz, 240 kHz, etc. The symbol and slot lengths scale with thesubcarrier spacing. The CP length also depends on the subcarrierspacing.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a frame format 600 for NR. Thetransmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may bepartitioned into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have apredetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and may be partitioned into 10subframes, each of 1 ms, with indices of 0 through 9. Each subframe mayinclude a variable number of slots depending on the subcarrier spacing.Each slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14symbols) depending on the subcarrier spacing. The symbol periods in eachslot may be assigned indices. A mini-slot, which may be referred to as asub-slot structure, refers to a transmit time interval having a durationless than a slot (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols).

Each symbol in a slot may indicate a link direction (e.g., DL, UL, orflexible) for data transmission and the link direction for each subframemay be dynamically switched. The link directions may be based on theslot format. Each slot may include DL/UL data as well as DL/UL controlinformation.

In NR, a synchronization signal (SS) block is transmitted. The SS blockincludes a PSS, a SSS, and a two symbol PBCH. The SS block can betransmitted in a fixed slot location, such as the symbols 0-3 as shownin FIG. 6. The PSS and SSS may be used by UEs for cell search andacquisition. The PSS may provide half-frame timing, the SS may providethe CP length and frame timing. The PSS and SSS may provide the cellidentity. The PBCH carries some basic system information, such asdownlink system bandwidth, timing information within radio frame, SSburst set periodicity, system frame number, etc. The SS blocks may beorganized into SS bursts to support beam sweeping. Further systeminformation such as, remaining minimum system information (RMSI), systeminformation blocks (SIBs), other system information (OSI) can betransmitted on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in certainsubframes.

In some circumstances, two or more subordinate entities (e.g., UEs) maycommunicate with each other using sidelink signals. Real-worldapplications of such sidelink communications may include public safety,proximity services, UE-to-network relaying, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)communications, Internet of Everything (IoE) communications, IoTcommunications, mission-critical mesh, and/or various other suitableapplications. Generally, a sidelink signal may refer to a signalcommunicated from one subordinate entity (e.g., UE1) to anothersubordinate entity (e.g., UE2) without relaying that communicationthrough the scheduling entity (e.g., UE or BS), even though thescheduling entity may be utilized for scheduling and/or controlpurposes. In some examples, the sidelink signals may be communicatedusing a licensed spectrum (unlike wireless local area networks, whichtypically use an unlicensed spectrum).

A UE may operate in various radio resource configurations, including aconfiguration associated with transmitting pilots using a dedicated setof resources (e.g., a radio resource control (RRC) dedicated state,etc.) or a configuration associated with transmitting pilots using acommon set of resources (e.g., an RRC common state, etc.). Whenoperating in the RRC dedicated state, the UE may select a dedicated setof resources for transmitting a pilot signal to a network. Whenoperating in the RRC common state, the UE may select a common set ofresources for transmitting a pilot signal to the network. In eithercase, a pilot signal transmitted by the UE may be received by one ormore network access devices, such as an AN, or a DU, or portionsthereof. Each receiving network access device may be configured toreceive and measure pilot signals transmitted on the common set ofresources, and also receive and measure pilot signals transmitted ondedicated sets of resources allocated to the UEs for which the networkaccess device is a member of a monitoring set of network access devicesfor the UE. One or more of the receiving network access devices, or a CUto which receiving network access device(s) transmit the measurements ofthe pilot signals, may use the measurements to identify serving cellsfor the UEs, or to initiate a change of serving cell for one or more ofthe UEs.

Quality of Service Model in 5G Networks

The 5G quality of service (QoS) model is based on QoS flows and supportsboth QoS flows that require guaranteed flow bit rate (GBR QoS Flows) andQoS flows that do not require guaranteed flow bit rate (non-GBR QoSFlows). At non-access stratum (NAS) level, the QoS flow is thus thefinest granularity of QoS differentiation in a protocol data unit (PDU)session. In some embodiments, a QoS flow is identified within a PDUsession by a QoS flow identifier (QFI) carried in an encapsulationheader over next generation user plane (NG-U).

FIG. 7A depicts an example of a QoS architecture 700 in a nextgeneration radio access network (NG-RAN) 721, which is applicable toboth new radio (NR) connected to a 5G core network (5GC) and for E-UTRAconnected to 5GC. As depicted in FIG. 7A, for each user equipment (UE)701, the 5GC 723 establishes one or more PDU sessions (e.g., 707). Foreach UE (e.g., 701), NG-RAN 721 establishes one or more data radiobearers (DRB) (e.g., 709 and 711) per PDU session (e.g., 707). TheNG-RAN 721 further maps packets belonging to different PDU sessions(e.g., 707) to different DRBs (e.g., 709 and 711).

Generally, the NG-RAN 721 establishes at least one default DRB (e.g.,709 or 711) for each PDU session (e.g., 707). In this architecture, NASlevel packet filters in the UE and in the 5GC associate uplink anddownlink packets with QoS flows (e.g., 715, 717, and 719). Further,access stratum (AS)-level mapping rules in the UE and in NG-RAN 721associate UL and DL QoS flows (e.g., 715, 717, and 719) with DRBs (e.g.,709 or 711).

NG-RAN 721 and 5GC 723 ensure quality of service (e.g., reliability andtarget delay) by mapping packets to appropriate QoS flows (e.g., 715,717, and 719) and DRBs (e.g., 709 or 711). Hence, there is a two-stepmapping of IP-flows to QoS flows (NAS) and from QoS flows to DRBs (AS)in the 5G quality of service (QoS) model.

At the NAS level, a QoS flow (e.g., 715, 717, and 719) is characterizedby a QoS profile provided by 5GC 723 to NG-RAN 721 and QoS rule(s)provided by 5GC 723 to UE 701. The QoS profile is used by NG-RAN 721 todetermine the treatment on radio interface 725 while the QoS rulesdictates the mapping between uplink user plane traffic and QoS flows toUE 701. As above, a QoS flow may either be a guaranteed bitrate (GBR) ornon-guaranteed bitrate (non-GBR), depending on its profile. The QoSprofile of a QoS flow may contain QoS parameters, for instance, for eachQoS flow (e.g., 715, 717, and 719). For example, the QoS parameters mayinclude a 5G QoS identifier (5QI) and an allocation and retentionpriority (ARP). In in the case of a GBR QoS flow only, the QoSparameters may additionally include a guaranteed flow bit rate (GFBR)for both uplink and downlink, a maximum flow bit rate (MFBR) for bothuplink and downlink, and a maximum packet loss rate for both uplink anddownlink. And in the case of non-GBR QoS only, the QoS parameters mayadditionally include a reflective QoS attribute (RQA). The RQA, whenincluded, indicates that some (not necessarily all) traffic carried onthis QoS flow is subject to reflective quality of service (RQoS) at theNAS.

In addition, an aggregate maximum bit rate is associated to each PDUsession (session-AMBR) and to each UE (UE-AMBR). The session-AMBR limitsthe aggregate bit rate that can be expected to be provided across allnon-GBR QoS flows for a specific PDU session. The UE-AMBR limits theaggregate bit rate that can be expected to be provided across allnon-GBR QoS flows of a UE.

The 5QI is associated to QoS characteristics giving guidelines forsetting node specific parameters for each QoS flow. Standardized orpre-configured 5G QoS characteristics are derived from the 5QI value andare not explicitly signalled. Signalled QoS characteristics are includedas part of the QoS profile. The QoS characteristics may include, forinstance, resource type (GBR, delay critical GBR or Non-GBR), prioritylevel, packet delay budget, packet error rate, averaging window, andmaximum data burst volume.

At the AS level, the DRB (e.g., 709 or 711) defines the packet treatmenton radio interface 725. A DRB (e.g., 709 or 711) serves packets with thesame packet forwarding treatment. The QoS flow (e.g., 715, 717, or 719)to DRB (e.g., 709 or 711) mapping by NG-RAN 721 is based on QFI and theassociated QoS profiles (i.e., QoS parameters and QoS characteristics).Separate DRBs (e.g., 709 and 711) may be established for QoS flows(e.g., 715, 717, and 719) requiring different packet forwardingtreatment, or several QoS flows (e.g., 715, 717, and 719) belonging tothe same PDU session (e.g., 707) can be multiplexed in the same DRB(e.g., 709 or 711).

In the uplink, NG-RAN 721 may control the mapping of QoS flows (e.g.,715, 717, and 719) to DRBs (e.g., 709 and 711) in different ways. First,NG-RAN 721 may implement reflective mapping in which for each DRB (e.g.,709 or 711), UE 701 monitors the QFI(s) of the downlink packets andapplies the same mapping in the uplink; that is, for a DRB (e.g., 709 or711), the UE 701 maps the uplink packets belonging to the QoS flows(e.g., 715, 717, and 719) corresponding to the QFI(s) and PDU session(e.g., 707) observed in the downlink packets for that DRB (e.g., 709 or711). To enable this reflective mapping, NG-RAN 721 marks downlinkpackets over radio interface 725 with QFI. Second, NG-RAN may implementexplicit configuration in which besides the reflective mapping, NG-RAN721 may configure by RRC signaling an uplink “QoS flow to DRB mapping.”Generally, UE 701 applies the latest update of the mapping rules,regardless of whether the update to the mapping rules is performed viareflecting mapping or explicit configuration.

In the downlink, the QFI is signaled by NG-RAN 721 over radio interface725 for the purpose of RQoS and if neither NG-RAN 721, nor the NAS (asindicated by the RQA) intend to use reflective mapping for the QoSflow(s) (e.g., 715, 717, or 719) carried in a DRB (e.g., 709 or 711),then no QFI is signaled for that DRB (e.g., 709 or 711) over radiointerface 725. In the uplink, NG-RAN 721 can configure UE 701 to signalQFI over radio interface 725.

For each PDU session (e.g., 707), a default DRB (e.g., 709 or 711) isconfigured. If an incoming uplink packet matches neither an RRCconfigured nor a reflective “QoS Flow ID to DRB mapping”, the UE mapsthat packet to the default DRB (e.g., 709 or 711) of PDU session 707.

Within each PDU session (e.g., 707), it is up to NG-RAN 721 how to mapmultiple QoS flows (e.g., 715, 717, and/or 719) to a DRB (e.g., 709 or711). NG-RAN 721 may map a GBR flow and a non-GBR flow, or more than oneGBR flow to the same DRB (e.g., 709 or 711). The timing of establishingnon-default DRB(s) between NG-RAN 721 and UE 701 for QoS flow configuredduring establishing a PDU session (e.g., 707) can be different from thetime when the PDU session (e.g., 707) is established. NG-RAN 721determines when non-default DRBs are established.

FIG. 7B depicts an example header 750 of a conventional SDAP PDU, whichincludes a “D/C” bit 752, an “R” bit 754, and QFI bits 756 (i.e., a QFIfield of the SDAP header of the SDAP PDU), which together make up anoctet of size one byte. In some cases, the “D/C” bit 752 indicateswhether the SDAP PDU 750 is an SDAP data PDU or an SDAP control PDU. TheR bit 754 is a reserved bit and, in some cases, may be set to zero.Additionally, the QFI bits 756 indicate the ID of the QoS flow to whichthe SDAP SDU 750 belongs. For example, in an uplink packet, QFI bits 756may refer to a QoS flow with QFI=3.

FIG. 8 illustrates an uplink mapping 800 for end-to-end QoS enforcement,according to aspects of the present disclosure. In the presentdisclosure, a service data flow (SDF) may be viewed as the data,packets, and/or frames from one set of applications on a smartphone, butthe present disclosure is not so limited and applies to all types ofSDFs in a wireless communications network. According to aspects of thepresent disclosure, a UE (e.g., UE 701 or UE 120) can have multiple PDUsessions 802, 804, and 806. In the PDU session 802, two SDFs 810 and 812are established. Packets from both SDFs 810 and 812 are matched to thedefault QoS flow 814 for PDU session 802. The default QoS flow for PDUsession 802 has a QoS flow identifier (QFI) of 1. The packets of the QoSflow are mapped to the default DRB 816 of the PDU session 802 fortransmission. In the PDU session 804, five SDFs 820, 822, 824, 826, and828 are established. Packets from SDF 820 are matched to the QoS flow830, which has a QFI of 1. The packets of the QoS flow QFI=1 are mappedto the DRB 840 for transmission. Packets from SDFs 822 and 824 arematched to the default QoS flow 832 for PDU session 804. The default QoSflow for PDU session 804 has a QFI of 2. The packets of the QoS flowQFI=2 are mapped to the default DRB 842 of the PDU session 804 fortransmission. Packets from SDFs 826 and 828 are matched to the QoS flow834, which has a QFI of 3. The packets of the QoS flow QFI=3 are alsomapped to the default DRB 842 of the PDU session 804 for transmission.In the unstructured PDU session 806, packets are mapped to the defaultQoS flow 850 for PDU session 806. The default QoS flow for theunstructured PDU session has a QFI=1. The packets of the QoS flow QFI=1are mapped to the default DRB 860 of the PDU session 806 fortransmission.

FIG. 9 is a diagram 900 of a call flow when an NG-RAN 902 configures aUE 904 to change the AS mapping of an existing QoS flow from one DRB toanother DRB, via RRC signalling. The configuration change and packetflows are illustrated in FIG. 10, described below. UE 120 (shown inFIGS. 1 and 4) may be an example of UE 904, and the components of UE 120shown in FIG. 4 may perform operations described in the call flowdiagram 900.

The call flow shown in diagram 900 begins with the UE 904 in RRCConnected mode, registered with the 5G core network, and camped on an NRcell. The UE has established a PDU session with PDU session type ofIPv4, IPv6, IPv4v6, or Ethernet. At 910, the UE establishes a QoS flowwith QFI=1 during PDU session establishment. RRC signaling (e.g., fromthe NG-RAN) configures a QoS flow, QFI1, to be mapped to a first DRB,DRB1. The UE transfers UL and DL application data via QFI1 and DRB1.

At 912, The NG-RAN sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE. TheRRC reconfiguration message contains a new mapping such that QFI1 ismapped to a second DRB, DRB2. The new QFI to DRB mapping is conveyed viaan information element (IE): RadioBearerConfig ->DRB-ToAddMod->sdap-Config. The UE sends an RRC Reconfiguration Complete message toacknowledge the NG-RAN's RRC message at 914.

Next, at 916, the UE SDAP layer maps all new QFI1 uplink data to DRB2.That is, data arriving at the UE SDAP layer is mapped to DRB2, accordingto the new QFI to DRB mapping. Thus, in the remainder of the call flow900, packets of QFI1 (e.g., Pkt-3 and Pkt-4) are mapped to DRB2.

At 918, after the UE has confirmed that no new QFI1 uplink data ismapped to DRB1, the UE creates an SDAP control PDU for QFI1 and puts theSDAP control PDU into the DRB1 layer-2 transmission buffer. The SDAPcontrol PDU is the last PDCP PDU of QFI1 in DRB1. In FIG. 10, the SDAPcontrol PDU is put after Pkt-2 in DRB1. According to aspects of thepresent disclosure, the PDCP entity in the UE cannot differentiate theSDAP control PDU from an SDAP data PDU, so both are treated in the sameway by PDCP and their order is preserved by the PDCP layer, i.e., thePDCP layer will ensure that the SDAP control PDU is the last PDCP PDUfor QFI1 in DRB1. Therefore, the SDAP control PDU serves as theend-marker in the QFI re-mapping.

Then, at 920, the UE may have already mapped some QFI1 uplink data toDRB1 (e.g., Pkt-1 and Pkt-2, shown in FIG. 10) and put the QFI1 uplinkdata into the layer-2 transmission buffer of DRB1. The UE stilltransmits all such QFI1 data via DRB1. In FIG. 10, Pkt-1 and Pkt-2 arealready mapped to DRB1.

At 922, due to hybrid automatic retransmission request (HARM) andlogical channel prioritization (LCP) (e.g., DRB2 may be higher prioritythan DRB1 in MAC layer scheduling), NG-RAN may receive the DRB2 datadescribed at 920 before receiving the DRB1 data described at 916, butthe NG-RAN begins delivering DRB2 data to upper layers only afterreceiving the SDAP end-marker control PDU mentioned above. This meansthat the NG-RAN delivers all DRB1 data to upper layers before deliveringany DRB2 data, for QFI1 in the uplink. In FIG. 10, Pkt-3 and Pkt-4 (fromDRB2) may be received by the NG-RAN earlier than Pkt-1, Pkt-2, or theSDAP control PDU. However, the NG-RAN will deliver Pkt-3 to upper layersonly after the SDAP control PDU is received.

At 924, the NG-RAN re-maps the DL QFI=1 data from DRB1 to DRB2, which isup to NG-RAN implementation. This can happen at any time in the callflow.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, the UE uses an SDAPend-marker control PDU to indicate that the configuration change hasbeen applied. During the call flow, the old DRB (DRB1) is not released.

FIG. 10 is a diagram 1000 illustrating an uplink mapping during theoperations illustrated with the call flow 900, shown in FIG. 9. When theoperations begin, the UE 1002 establishes a QoS flow 1004 with QFI=1(i.e., QFI1) during PDU session establishment. RRC signaling (e.g., fromthe NG-RAN) configures the QoS flow, QFI1, to be mapped to a first DRB1006, DRB1. The UE transfers UL and DL application data (e.g., Pkt-11010 and Pkt-2 1012) from an application layer 1050 via QFI1 and DRB1.As mentioned above with reference to 912 in FIG. 9, the UE receives anRRC reconfiguration message that contains a new mapping such that QFI1is mapped to a second DRB 1020, DRB2. A service data adaptation protocol(SDAP) layer 1030 at the UE creates an SDAP control PDU 1032 for QFI1and puts the SDAP control PDU into the DRB1 layer-2 transmission buffer.The application layer generates additional application data, packetsPkt-3 1040 and Pkt-4 1042. The SDAP layer maps packets Pkt-3 and Pkt-4to DRB2, according to the new mapping received in the RRCreconfiguration message.

Example Avoiding Out of Order Uplink Data Reception Upon DRB Release,Handover to Another Drb, or QOS Flow Addition

According to aspects of the present disclosure, some DRBs (e.g., DRB1,shown in FIG. 10) may be released while there are still residual UL SDAPdata PDUs in the UE buffers of the released DRBs. The DRBs may bereleased due to, e.g., handover from a 5G network that uses SDAP headerson PDUs to a 4G or 3G network that does not use SDAP headers on PDUs,PDU session user plane deactivation (i.e., all DRBs of an existing PDUsession are released), RRC release (i.e., a command from the network torelease the DRB), or radio link failure (RLF). The UE may then perform arelevant procedure to establish DRBs again. For example, a UE has datato transmit via a DRB, DRB1, and the UE is assigned a new DRB, DRB2.DRB1 and DRB2 can have different configurations. For example, in a firstconfiguration for data of two QoS flows, QFI1 and QFI2, DRB1 isconfigured to use uplink SDAP headers, and both QFI1 and QFI2 are mappedto DRB1. In the example, the UE receives a new configuration for theQFI1 and QFI2 data. In the new configuration, a new DRB, DRB2, isconfigured with no uplink SDAP header; QFI1 is mapped to DRB2; anothernew DRB, DRB3, is configured to not use uplink SDAP headers; and QFI2 ismapped to DRB3. In the example, one problem is that the QFI1 and QFI2data packets in DRB1′s buffer are formatted based on the oldconfiguration (i.e., DRB1′s configuration). Such QFI1 packets cannot bedirectly transmitted via DRB2, because their format is not compliantwith DRB2′s configuration and the receiver cannot process these packetscorrectly if they are directly transmitted via DRB2. In the example, asecond problem is that, according to the new configurations, QFI1packets can only be transmitted via the PDCP entity for DRB2, and QFI2packets can only be transmitted via the PDCP entity for DRB3. However,QFI1 packets and QFI2 packets may be mixed in the same buffer of DRB1.The lower layer (PDCP layer) of the protocol stack does not know whichpackets are from the QFI1 QoS flow and which packets are from the QFI2QoS flow.

In previously known techniques, a UE discards UL data packets in thereleased DRB if a new configured DRB has a different UL SDAP headerconfiguration (e.g., the released DRB uses SDAP headers and the new DRBdoes not use SDAP headers) and a different QFI-to-DRB mapping than thereleased DRB. Also, in previously known techniques, if the oldconfiguration uses UL SDAP headers and the new configuration does notuse UL SDAP headers, then the receiving gNB treats the SDAP headers(i.e., from the packets configured using the old configuration) as userdata, and hence, the upper layer (e.g., TCP/UDP/IP) protocol will findthe data format invalid and discard the packets. In addition, inpreviously known techniques, the UL data may be out of order at thereceiver side, due to the previously mentioned packet discarding. Thus,it is desirable to develop techniques to avoiding out of order uplinkdata reception upon DRB release or handover to another DRB.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating operations 1100 for wirelesscommunications that may be performed by a UE (e.g., UE 120, shown inFIGS. 1 and 4), to avoid out of order uplink data reception upon DRBrelease, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

At block 1102, operations 1100 begin with the UE obtaining an indicationthat a first data radio bearer (DRB) is released, wherein a firstmapping maps a first quality of service (QoS) flow to the first DRB. Forexample, UE 120 (shown in FIGS. 1 and 4) is initially connected to a 4Gcore network (e.g., a 4G network operated via BS 110 a, shown in FIG. 1)via a first DRB (DRB1) that is a 4G DRB that is configured to not useuplink SDAP headers on PDUs and the UE receives a handover (HO) commandto handover to a 5G core network (e.g., a 5G network operated via BS 110b, shown in FIG. 1). Receiving the handover command is an example of aUE obtaining an indication that a first DRB is released.

Operations 1100 continue at block 1104 with the UE obtaining a secondmapping that maps the first QoS flow to a second DRB. Continuing theexample from above, the UE is configured by the network (e.g., in the HOcommand) to map DRB1 (i.e., the first DRB) to a QoS flow of a second DRB(DRB2, e.g., a 5G DRB that is configured to use SDAP headers on PDUs).

At block 1106, operations 1100 continue with the UE editing service dataadaptation protocol (SDAP) headers of uplink protocol data units (PDUs)in an uplink transmission buffer associated with the first DRB, based ona difference between a first configuration of the first DRB and a secondconfiguration of the second DRB. Continuing the example from above, theUE edits each SDAP PDU in a transmission buffer of the UE that waspreviously mapped to DRB1 by adding an SDAP header to that PDU. The UEmay move the edited PDUs (i.e., the PDUs with the added SDAP headers) tothe transmission buffer for DRB2. The UE then transmits the edited PDUsvia DRB2.

Operations 1100 continue at block 1108 with the UE transmitting theuplink PDUs via the second DRB. Continuing the example from above, theUE transmits the edited PDUs (i.e., the PDUs with the added SDAPheaders) via the second DRB (DRB2).

A UE performing operations 1100 (described above with reference to FIG.11) is described in the following example. A UE (e.g., UE 120, shown inFIG. 1) is initially connected to a 5G core network (e.g., a 5G networkoperated via BS 110 a, shown in FIG. 1) via a 5G DRB (DRB1). The UE thenhands over to a 4G core network (e.g., a 4G network operated via BS 110b, shown in FIG. 1). The UE is configured by the network to map the QoSflows of 5G DRB1 to a 4G DRB (e.g., 4G DRB2). DRB1 is configured to useuplink SDAP headers on SDAP PDUs, while DRB2 is configured to not useSDAP headers on PDUs. In this example, the UE can perform operations1100, to edit each SDAP PDU mapped to DRB1 in the UE transmission bufferby removing an SDAP header from that PDU, and then move the edited PDUs(i.e., the PDUs after they have had the SDAP headers removed) to atransmission buffer for DRB2, prior to transmitting the edited PDUs viaDRB2.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, a UE performingoperations 1100 does not discard UL data packets in the released DRB(i.e., the first DRB of block 1102) if a new configured DRB has adifferent UL SDAP header configuration and QFI-to-DRB mapping than thereleased DRB. Because the UE does not discard UL data, the UL data isreceived in order (i.e., in the correct sequence) at the receiver side.

In aspects of the present disclosure, if the first configuration of thefirst DRB (i.e., the first configuration in block 1106) indicates thatuplink SDAP PDUs do not have SDAP headers (e.g., the first DRB is a DRBof a 3G or 4G network) and the second configuration of the second DRB(i.e., the second configuration in block 1106) indicates that uplinkSDAP PDUs have SDAP headers (e.g., the second DRB is a DRB of a 5Gnetwork), then for each existing UL SDAP data PDU in a DRB uplink bufferof the UE, the UE adds an uplink SDAP header to the SDAP data PDU; setsthe “QFI” field of the UL SDAP header to the QFI value of the QoS flow(i.e., the QoS flow in block 1102); sets other fields of the added ULSDAP header based on a related specification, such as 3GPP TS.37.324;and transmits the updated UL SDAP data PDU via the second DRB.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, if the firstconfiguration of the first DRB (i.e., the first configuration in block1106) indicates that uplink SDAP PDUs have SDAP headers and the secondconfiguration of the second DRB (i.e., the second configuration in block1106) indicates that uplink SDAP PDUs do not have SDAP headers, then foreach existing UL SDAP data PDU in a DRB uplink buffer of the UE, the UEremoves uplink SDAP headers from the SDAP data PDU and transmits theupdated UL SDAP data PDU via the second DRB.

In previously known techniques, a UE may receive a NAS PDU sessionmodification command to add a new QoS flow, QFI1, (i.e., the UE does nothave the QoS flow before getting the NAS PDU session modificationcommand), by adding one or multiple QoS rules associated with QFI1, andthe UE may send packets out of order by using the rules associated withQFI1 before the UE obtains a QFI-to-DRB mapping rule for QFI1. This mayoccur when the gNB does not configure a QFI-to-DRB mapping at exactlythe same TTI as the network configures the UE with new QoS flows, whichcan happen frequently, since these two configurations may come fromdifferent network entities. In previously known techniques, when the UEreceives a NAS PDU session modification command to add a new QoS flow(QFI1) before the UE obtains a QFI-to-DRB mapping rule for QFI1, the UEwill map QFI1 to the default DRB. When the RRCReconfiguration messagecontaining a configuration to map QFI1 to another DRB (e.g., DRB2) isreceived by the UE, then the UE locally remaps QFI1 to the other DRB(DRB2). However, the network may not expect such a remapping. In-orderdelivery is only tracked within a DRB, but QFI1 packets are transmittedover both DRB1 and DRB2 during the remapping transition time, and hencedata packets of QFI1 may be received out of their original order. It istherefore desirable to develop techniques to avoid out of order uplinkdata reception upon QoS flow addition.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating operations 1200 for wirelesscommunications that may be performed by a UE (e.g., UE 120, shown inFIGS. 1 and 4) to avoid out of order uplink data reception upon QoS flowaddition.

At block 1202, operations 1200 begin with the UE receiving a non-accessstratum (NAS) protocol data unit (PDU) session modification command fora PDU session that adds a new quality of service (QoS) flow having afirst QoS flow identifier (QFI). For example, UE 120 (shown in FIG. 1)receives a NAS PDU session modification command message for a PDUsession that adds a new QoS flow with a QFI=2 (i.e., a first QFI).

Operations 1200 continue at block 1204 with the UE determining that theUE does not have an uplink QoS flow to data radio bearer (DRB) mappingrule for the QoS flow having the first QFI. Continuing the example fromabove, the UE determines that the UE does not have an uplink QoS flow toDRB mapping rule for the QoS with QFI=2.

Operations 1200 continue at block 1206 with the UE, preventing, during aperiod subsequent to the determination, a service data adaptationprotocol (SDAP) layer of the UE from processing and transmitting uplinkdata associated with the QoS flow having the first QFI. Continuing theexample from above, the UE, while the first timer is counting down theperiod, prevents an SDAP layer of the UE from processing andtransmitting uplink data associated with the QoS flow having QFI=2.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, a UE performingoperations 1200 may cause a receiver to receive packets of the QoS flowhaving the first QFI of block 1202 in the packets' original order.

In aspects of the present disclosure, a UE performing operations 1200may receive a QoS flow to DRB mapping rule for the QoS flow having thefirst QFI (i.e., the QoS flow in block 1202). The UE may then processand transmit uplink data associated with the QoS flow having the firstQFI using the received QoS flow to DRB mapping rule.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, a UE performingoperations 1200 may, at the end of the period (i.e., the period in block1206), determine a QoS flow to DRB mapping rule for the QoS flow havingthe first QFI (i.e., the QoS flow in block 1202).

In aspects of the present disclosure, a UE performing operations 1200may start a timer at the beginning of the period (i.e., the period inblock 1204) and determine that the period ends when the timer expires.

In aspects of the present disclosure, a UE determining a QoS flow to DRBmapping rule for the QoS flow having the first QFI (i.e., the QoS flowin block 1202) may determine the DRB mapping rule to be to map PDUs ofthe QoS flow having the first QFI to a default DRB of the PDU session.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, a UE determining a QoSflow to DRB mapping rule for the QoS flow having the first QFI (i.e.,the QoS flow in block 1202) may determine that the PDU session does nothave a default DRB and then determine the DRB mapping rule to be to mapPDUs of the QoS flow having the first QFI to a non-default DRB of thePDU session.

In previously known techniques, if a PDU session has non-default DRBsand no default DRB, and at least one QoS flow of the PDU session has noQoS flow to DRB mapping rule configured, then UE behavior is notdefined, and the UE will typically discard uplink user data of the QoSflow(s) which are not mapped to a DRB. While this is a network error andshould be rare in a well-configured 5G standalone (SA) network, it mayhappen in initial SA deployments where the network configuration may benot optimal. It is therefore desirable to develop techniques to preventa UE from discarding uplink user data under these conditions.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating operations 1300 for wirelesscommunications that may be performed by a UE (e.g., UE 120, shown inFIGS. 1 and 4) to avoid discarding UL user data when the UE has a PDUsession having non-default DRBs, no default DRB, and at least one QoSflow that is not mapped to any DRB, according to aspects of the presentdisclosure.

At block 1302, operations 1300 begin with the UE receiving aconfiguration of a protocol data unit (PDU) session, wherein theconfiguration does not identify a default data radio bearer (DRB) of thePDU session and a quality of service (QoS) flow of the PDU session doesnot have a QoS flow to DRB mapping rule configured. For example, UE 120(shown in FIGS. 1 and 4) receives a configuration of a PDU session(e.g., for a web-browsing application), wherein the configuration doesnot identify a default DRB of the PDU session and a QoS flow of the PDUsession does not have a QoS flow to DRB mapping rule configured.

At block 1304, operations 1300 continue with the UE, subsequent to aperiod elapsing after receiving the configuration, determining if theconfiguration still holds. Continuing the example from above, when thetimer (i.e., the timer started in block 1304) expires, the UE determinesif the configuration (i.e., the configuration received in block 1302)still holds (e.g., the UE determines if a replacement configuration hasbeen received).

Operations 1300 continue at block 1306 with the UE, when theconfiguration still holds: when a DRB of the PDU session that contains aQoS flow associated with the default QoS rule is configured to useuplink service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) headers, mapping the QoSflow to the DRB, and when the DRB of the PDU session that contains a QoSflow associated with the default QoS rule is not configured to useuplink SDAP headers, mapping the QoS flow to another DRB that does notcontain a guaranteed bit rate (GBR) QoS flow and is configured to useuplink SDAP headers. Continuing the example from above, if the UEdetermined the configuration still held in block 1306, then: when a DRBof the PDU session that contains a QoS flow associated with the defaultQoS rule is configured to use uplink service data adaptation protocol(SDAP) headers, the UE maps the QoS flow (i.e., the QoS flow in block1302 that does not have a QoS flow to DRB mapping rule configured) tothe DRB (i.e., the DRB that is configured to use uplink SDAP headers andcontains a QoS flow associated with the default QoS rule), and when theDRB of the PDU session that contains a QoS flow associated with thedefault QoS rule is not configured to use uplink SDAP headers, mappingthe QoS flow (i.e., the QoS flow in block 1302 that does not have a QoSflow to DRB mapping rule configured) to another DRB that does notcontain any guaranteed bit rate (GBR) QoS flow and is configured to useuplink SDAP headers.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, a UE performingoperations 1300 will not discard uplink user data when:

-   -   (1) the UE has a PDU session that has non-default DRBs and no        default DRB and    -   (2) at least one QoS flow of the PDU session has no mapped DRB        configured.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, a UE performingoperations 1300 may determine the length of the period (i.e., the periodin block 1304) based on a wireless network communications standard.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, a UE performingoperations 1300 may determine the length of the period (i.e., the periodin block 1304) based on a configuration received from the network (i.e.,received from a base station).

In aspects of the present disclosure, a UE performing operations 1300may start a timer at the beginning of the period (i.e., the period inblock 1304) and determine that the period ends when the timer expires.

Example Communication Device

FIG. 14 illustrates a communications device 1400 that may includevarious components (e.g., corresponding to means-plus-functioncomponents) configured to perform operations for the techniquesdisclosed herein, such as the operations illustrated in FIGS. 11, 12,and 13. The communications device 1400 includes a processing system 1402coupled to a transceiver 1408. The transceiver 1408 is configured totransmit and receive signals for the communications device 1400 via anantenna 1410, such as the various signal described herein. Theprocessing system 1402 may be configured to perform processing functionsfor the communications device 1400, including processing signalsreceived and/or to be transmitted by the communications device 1400.

The processing system 1402 includes a processor 1404 coupled to acomputer-readable medium/memory 1412 via a bus 1406. In certain aspects,the computer-readable medium/memory 1412 is configured to storeinstructions that when executed by processor 1404, cause the processor1404 to perform the operations illustrated in FIGS. 11, 12, and 13, orother operations for performing the various techniques discussed herein.

In certain aspects, the processing system 1402 further includes areceiving component 1414 for performing the operations illustrated inFIGS. 11, 12, and 13. Additionally, the processing system 1402 includesa transmitting component 1416 for performing the operations illustratedin FIGS. 11, 12, and 13. Additionally, the processing system 1402includes a determining component 1418 for performing the operationsillustrated in FIGS. 11, 12, and 13. Additionally, the processing system1402 includes a deriving component 1420 for performing the operationsillustrated in FIGS. 11, 12, and 13. The receiving component 1414,transmitting component 1416, determining component 1418, and derivingcomponent 1420 may be coupled to the processor 1404 via bus 1406. Incertain aspects, the receiving component 1414, transmitting component1416, determining component 1418, and deriving component 1420 may behardware circuits. In certain aspects, the receiving component 1414,transmitting component 1416, determining component 1418, and derivingcomponent 1420 may be software components that are executed and run onprocessor 1404.

The methods disclosed herein comprise one or more steps or actions forachieving the methods. The method steps and/or actions may beinterchanged with one another without departing from the scope of theclaims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions isspecified, the order and/or use of specific steps and/or actions may bemodified without departing from the scope of the claims.

As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of itemsrefers to any combination of those items, including single members. Asan example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c,a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c, as well as any combination with multiples ofthe same element (e.g., a-a, a-a-a, a-a-b, a-a-c, a-b-b, a-c-c, b-b,b-b-b, b-b-c, c-c, and c-c-c or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

As used herein, the term “determining” encompasses a wide variety ofactions. For example, “determining” may include calculating, computing,processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in atable, a database or another data structure), ascertaining and the like.Also, “determining” may include receiving (e.g., receiving information),accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory) and the like. Also,“determining” may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishingand the like.

The preceding description is provided to enable any person skilled inthe art to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. All structural andfunctional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects describedthroughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known tothose of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein byreference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover,nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the publicregardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in theclaims. No claim element is to be construed under the provisions of 35U.S.C. § 112(f) unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase“means for” or, in the case of a method claim, the element is recitedusing the phrase “step for.”

The various operations of methods described above may be performed byany suitable means capable of performing the corresponding functions.The means may include various hardware and/or software component(s)and/or module(s), including, but not limited to a circuit, anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or processor. Generally,where there are operations illustrated in figures, those operations mayhave corresponding counterpart means-plus-function components withsimilar numbering.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules and circuits describedin connection with the present disclosure may be implemented orperformed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor(DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD),discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any commercially available processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

If implemented in hardware, an example hardware configuration maycomprise a processing system in a wireless node. The processing systemmay be implemented with a bus architecture. The bus may include anynumber of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specificapplication of the processing system and the overall design constraints.The bus may link together various circuits including a processor,machine-readable media, and a bus interface. The bus interface may beused to connect a network adapter, among other things, to the processingsystem via the bus. The network adapter may be used to implement thesignal processing functions of the PHY layer. In the case of a userterminal 120 (see FIG. 1), a user interface (e.g., keypad, display,mouse, joystick, etc.) may also be connected to the bus. The bus mayalso link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals,voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which arewell known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further.The processor may be implemented with one or more general-purpose and/orspecial-purpose processors. Examples include microprocessors,microcontrollers, DSP processors, and other circuitry that can executesoftware. Those skilled in the art will recognize how best to implementthe described functionality for the processing system depending on theparticular application and the overall design constraints imposed on theoverall system.

If implemented in software, the functions may be stored or transmittedover as one or more instructions or code on a computer readable medium.Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, data, or anycombination thereof, whether referred to as software, firmware,middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.Computer-readable media include both computer storage media andcommunication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of acomputer program from one place to another. The processor may beresponsible for managing the bus and general processing, including theexecution of software modules stored on the machine-readable storagemedia. A computer-readable storage medium may be coupled to a processorsuch that the processor can read information from, and write informationto, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may beintegral to the processor. By way of example, the machine-readable mediamay include a transmission line, a carrier wave modulated by data,and/or a computer readable storage medium with instructions storedthereon separate from the wireless node, all of which may be accessed bythe processor through the bus interface. Alternatively, or in addition,the machine-readable media, or any portion thereof, may be integratedinto the processor, such as the case may be with cache and/or generalregister files. Examples of machine-readable storage media may include,by way of example, RAM (Random Access Memory), flash memory, ROM (ReadOnly Memory), PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory), EPROM (ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory), registers, magnetic disks, opticaldisks, hard drives, or any other suitable storage medium, or anycombination thereof. The machine-readable media may be embodied in acomputer-program product.

A software module may comprise a single instruction, or manyinstructions, and may be distributed over several different codesegments, among different programs, and across multiple storage media.The computer-readable media may comprise a number of software modules.The software modules include instructions that, when executed by anapparatus such as a processor, cause the processing system to performvarious functions. The software modules may include a transmissionmodule and a receiving module. Each software module may reside in asingle storage device or be distributed across multiple storage devices.By way of example, a software module may be loaded into RAM from a harddrive when a triggering event occurs. During execution of the softwaremodule, the processor may load some of the instructions into cache toincrease access speed. One or more cache lines may then be loaded into ageneral register file for execution by the processor. When referring tothe functionality of a software module below, it will be understood thatsuch functionality is implemented by the processor when executinginstructions from that software module.

Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. Forexample, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or otherremote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair,digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared(IR), radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, andmicrowave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, asused herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc,digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray® disc where disksusually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce dataoptically with lasers. Thus, in some aspects computer-readable media maycomprise non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g., tangible media).In addition, for other aspects computer-readable media may comprisetransitory computer-readable media (e.g., a signal). Combinations of theabove should also be included within the scope of computer-readablemedia.

Thus, certain aspects may comprise a computer program product forperforming the operations presented herein. For example, such a computerprogram product may comprise a computer-readable medium havinginstructions stored (and/or encoded) thereon, the instructions beingexecutable by one or more processors to perform the operations describedherein. For example, instructions for performing the operationsdescribed herein and illustrated in FIGS. 11, 12, and 13.

Further, it should be appreciated that modules and/or other appropriatemeans for performing the methods and techniques described herein can bedownloaded and/or otherwise obtained by a user terminal and/or basestation as applicable. For example, such a device can be coupled to aserver to facilitate the transfer of means for performing the methodsdescribed herein. Alternatively, various methods described herein can beprovided via storage means (e.g., RAM, ROM, a physical storage mediumsuch as a compact disc (CD) or floppy disk, etc.), such that a userterminal and/or base station can obtain the various methods uponcoupling or providing the storage means to the device. Moreover, anyother suitable technique for providing the methods and techniquesdescribed herein to a device can be utilized.

It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the preciseconfiguration and components illustrated above. Various modifications,changes and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation anddetails of the methods and apparatus described above without departingfrom the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communications performed bya user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a non-access stratum (NAS)protocol data unit (PDU) session modification command for a PDU sessionthat adds a new quality of service (QoS) flow having a first QoS flowidentifier (QFI); determining that the UE does not have an uplink QoSflow to data radio bearer (DRB) mapping rule for the QoS flow having thefirst QFI; and preventing, during a period subsequent to thedetermination, a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer of the UEfrom processing and transmitting uplink data associated with the QoSflow having the first QFI.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving a QoS flow to DRB mapping rule for the QoS flow having thefirst QFI; processing uplink data associated with the QoS flow havingthe first QFI using the received QoS flow to DRB mapping rule; andtransmitting the uplink data associated with the QoS flow having thefirst QFI using the received QoS flow to DRB mapping rule.
 3. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: at the end of the period, determining aDRB mapping rule for the QoS flow having the first QFI.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, further comprising: starting a timer subsequent to thedetermination; and determining that the period has ended when the timerexpires.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the DRB mapping rule for theQoS flow having the first QFI is to map PDUs of the QoS flow having thefirst QFI to a default DRB of the PDU session.
 6. The method of claim 3,further comprising: determining that the PDU session does not have adefault DRB, wherein: determining the DRB mapping rule for the QoS flowhaving the first QFI comprises determining to map PDUs of the QoS flowto a non-default DRB of the PDU session.
 7. A method of wirelesscommunications, comprising: receiving a configuration of a protocol dataunit (PDU) session, wherein the configuration does not identify adefault data radio bearer (DRB) of the PDU session and a quality ofservice (QoS) flow of the PDU session does not have a QoS flow to DRBmapping rule configured; subsequent to a period elapsing after receivingthe configuration, determining if the configuration still holds; whenthe configuration still holds: when a DRB of the PDU session thatcontains a QoS flow associated with a default QoS rule is configured touse uplink service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) headers, mapping theQoS flow to the DRB; and when the DRB of the PDU session that containsthe QoS flow associated with the default QoS rule is not configured touse uplink SDAP headers, mapping the QoS flow to another DRB that doesnot contain a guaranteed bit rate (GBR) QoS flow and is configured touse uplink SDAP headers.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:determining a length of the period based on the configuration or anotherconfiguration received from a base station.
 9. The method of claim 7,further comprising: starting a timer subsequent to receiving theconfiguration; and determining that the period has ended when the timerexpires.
 10. An apparatus of wireless communications, comprising: aprocessor configured to: receive a non-access stratum (NAS) protocoldata unit (PDU) session modification command for a PDU session that addsa new quality of service (QoS) flow having a first QoS flow identifier(QFI); determine that the apparatus does not have an uplink QoS flow todata radio bearer (DRB) mapping rule for the QoS flow having the firstQFI; and prevent, during a period subsequent to the determination, aservice data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer of the apparatus fromprocessing and transmitting uplink data associated with the QoS flowhaving the first QFI; and a memory coupled with the processor.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to:receive a QoS flow to DRB mapping rule for the QoS flow having the firstQFI; process uplink data associated with the QoS flow having the firstQFI using the received QoS flow to DRB mapping rule; and transmit theuplink data associated with the QoS flow having the first QFI using thereceived QoS flow to DRB mapping rule.
 12. The apparatus of claim 10,wherein the processor is further configured to: at the end of theperiod, determine a DRB mapping rule for the QoS flow having the firstQFI.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: start a timer subsequent to the determination; anddetermine that the period has ended when the timer expires.
 14. Theapparatus of claim 12, wherein the DRB mapping rule for the QoS flowhaving the first QFI is to map PDUs of the QoS flow having the first QFIto a default DRB of the PDU session.
 15. The apparatus of claim 12,wherein the processor is further configured to: determine that the PDUsession does not have a default DRB; and determine the DRB mapping rulefor the QoS flow having the first QFI by determining to map PDUs of theQoS flow to a non-default DRB of the PDU session.
 16. An apparatus forwireless communications, comprising: a processor configured to: receivea configuration of a protocol data unit (PDU) session, wherein theconfiguration does not identify a default data radio bearer (DRB) of thePDU session and a quality of service (QoS) flow of the PDU session doesnot have a QoS flow to DRB mapping rule configured; determine if theconfiguration still holds subsequent to a period elapsing afterreceiving the configuration; map the QoS flow to the DRB, when theconfiguration still holds and when a DRB of the PDU session thatcontains a QoS flow associated with a default QoS rule is configured touse uplink service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) headers; and map theQoS flow to another DRB that does not contain a guaranteed bit rate(GBR) QoS flow and is configured to use uplink SDAP headers, when theconfiguration still holds and when the DRB of the PDU session thatcontains the QoS flow associated with the default QoS rule is notconfigured to use uplink SDAP headers; and a memory coupled with theprocessor.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the processor isfurther configured to: determine a length of the period based on theconfiguration or another configuration received from a base station. 18.The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configuredto: start a timer subsequent to receiving the configuration; anddetermine that the period has ended when the timer expires.